Olivia’s Legacy Roars On

This piece was first published as “Terminally ill Jewish teen, who inspired millions with Katy Perry son, dies aged 16” in The Times of Israel.

Toronto teen Olivia Wise, who died of brain cancer, inspired millions of people worldwide with her rendition of Katy Perry’s hit song “Roar.” (Courtesy of Jeff Kassel)

Olivia Wise, the 16-year-old Jewish Toronto girl who inspired millions of people worldwide, died from brain cancer on Monday. Wise gained widespread attention, including from pop star Katy Perry, after a video of her singing Perry’s hit song “Roar” was posted to YouTube. The video, made at a recording studio in September, when Wise was already too weak to stand, has gotten over a million views.

Jeff Kassel, Wise’s cousin, told The Times of Israel that she passed away at home on Monday afternoon, surrounded by family, including her mother Kari, father Michael, older sister Kaily, younger sister Sabrina and younger brother Jason.

Wise, who was diagnosed with brain cancer in 2012, shortly after her 15thbirthday, was reportedly buoyed by a video message Perry sent her. “It was the last thing she was aware of,” said Kassel. “She was unconscious for the last couple of weeks after that.”

Wise was consequently unaware of the recent tribute video and scrapbooks made for her by some 1,500 Ontario high school and university students, or of special recognition given to her in the Ontario Legislative Assembly on November 18 by MPP Michael Harris.

“Today, I rise to honor a special young lady named Olivia Wise who has impacted the lives of millions of people, including myself,” the member from Kitchener-Conestoga said. Harris, who represents an electoral district in which Wise does not reside, told the provincial parliament about a fund in Wise’s name for pediatric brain cancer research and treatment. He concluded his speech by saying, “My wish for Olivia is that her legacy inspires others to keep fighting.”

Like this:

Related

This entry was posted on November 25, 2013 at 8:52 pm and is filed under This You'll Want To Hear. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.
You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.